Source Attribution & Provenance

Media.com is built around accountable publishing and identifiable sources.

Users should be able to understand who published content, where important material originated and whether media has been materially altered, reproduced or taken from another source.

Do not knowingly misrepresent the origin, authorship, ownership, source or publication history of content.

These Rules do not require every post, opinion or personal statement to contain formal citations.

They are intended to prevent deceptive sourcing and improve transparency where provenance is material to understanding the content.

These Rules may apply to:

• articles;
• posts;
• videos;
• Shorts;
• audio;
• images;
• documents;
• screenshots;
• quotations;
• data;
• research;
• Newsroom publications;
• Official Statements;
• reposted or syndicated content;
• embedded content;
• synthetic or manipulated media;
• source labels;
• publication metadata; and
• other supported Media.com content.

Do not knowingly create a false impression about the origin of content.

This includes falsely claiming that:

• you created content that was created by someone else;
• footage is original when it was obtained from another source;
• a document came from an official source when it did not;
• a quotation came from someone who did not make it;
• material was published at a particular time or place when it was not;
• content is a first-hand account when it is not; or
• you possess an original source when you only possess a copy, summary or reproduction.

You may identify content as original where you or the organization you represent created or first published it.

Do not use terms such as:

• Original;
• Exclusive;
• First Published;
• Official;
• Primary Source; or
• First-Hand

in a materially misleading way.

Media.com may provide specific provenance labels for these purposes.

You may repost, quote, embed or republish third-party material where you have the legal right to do so and comply with Media.com's Rules.

Where another source materially created or first published the content, users should not present the material as their own original work.

Where reasonably necessary, users should identify:

• the original creator;
• original publisher;
• source publication;
• original link;
• original date; or
• other material provenance information.

Copyright obligations are governed separately by Media.com's Copyright & Intellectual Property Rules.

Where factual material, quotations, research, statistics, documents or media substantially rely on an identifiable external source, users are encouraged to identify that source where appropriate.

Attribution may include:

• the person;
• organization;
• publication;
• report;
• document;
• dataset;
• interview;
• official record; or
• other source relied upon.

Media.com may require clearer attribution where the absence of source information would materially mislead users.

Do not knowingly:

• fabricate quotations;
• attribute a quotation to the wrong person;
• materially alter a quotation while presenting it as verbatim;
• remove context in a way that materially changes its meaning; or
• falsely describe a paraphrase as a direct quotation.

Edited excerpts should not be presented in a way that materially misrepresents the original statement.

Do not describe a secondary report as a primary source where that distinction is material.

For example, reporting that another publication obtained a document is different from claiming that you personally obtained the document.

Users may rely on secondary sources but should avoid materially misrepresenting their proximity to the underlying evidence.

Journalists, whistleblowers and other publishers are not required by these Rules to publicly identify confidential or anonymous sources.

A publisher may describe a source in appropriate terms without revealing the person's identity.

Examples may include:

• a person familiar with the matter;
• an employee who requested anonymity;
• a confidential source;
• an authorised representative;
• a witness;
• a person directly involved; or
• another appropriately described source.

Users must not knowingly fabricate the existence of a confidential source.

Media.com should not require public disclosure of a confidential source merely to satisfy provenance requirements.

Where a document is presented as:

• official;
• leaked;
• court-filed;
• government-issued;
• corporate;
• internal;
• signed;
• authentic; or
• otherwise originating from a particular source,

users must not knowingly misrepresent its provenance.

If authenticity is uncertain, users should describe the uncertainty where it is material.

Screenshots may be published where otherwise permitted.

Do not present a fabricated, altered or misleading screenshot as an authentic record of:

• a message;
• website;
• social-media post;
• transaction;
• document;
• account;
• conversation; or
• other event.

Materially altered screenshots should be disclosed where they could reasonably be mistaken for genuine records.

Where media was obtained from another person, organization or publication, users should not falsely present it as their own original recording.

Relevant provenance information may include:

• who recorded it;
• where it was obtained;
• when it was recorded;
• where it first appeared;
• whether it has been edited; or
• whether the publisher could independently verify its origin.

Not every item requires every piece of information.

The appropriate level of attribution depends on context.

Publishers may use eyewitness or user-generated material.

Where relevant, they should distinguish between:

• content they recorded themselves;
• content submitted to them;
• content obtained from another platform;
• content supplied by a witness; and
• content whose origin has not been independently verified.

Do not present unverified third-party footage as personally verified evidence where that is not the case.

Where content is materially generated, reconstructed or altered using artificial intelligence or other technology, users must comply with Media.com's Synthetic & Manipulated Media Rules.

Synthetic content should not be presented as authentic original evidence of a real event where it is not.

Ordinary editing is permitted.

However, where editing materially changes how a reasonable user would understand the source material, appropriate context or disclosure may be required.

Examples may include:

• substantial audio edits;
• rearranged video;
• omitted material that materially changes meaning;
• edited quotations;
• reconstructed scenes; or
• composites created from multiple sources.

Organizations may syndicate or republish content across Media.com and other platforms.

Where content was originally published elsewhere, Media.com may permit provenance information such as:

• Originally published by [Publisher];
• First published on [Date];
• Republished with permission;
• Syndicated from [Source]; or
• Adapted from [Original Publication].

Syndication itself is not a violation.

Content presented as an Official Statement should originate from or be published with authority from the person or organization represented.

Do not publish content as an Official Statement where you are not authorised to do so.

Relevant conduct may also violate Media.com's Verification or Impersonation & Identity Abuse Rules.

Organization Newsrooms should accurately identify the organization responsible for publications.

Where a Newsroom republishes third-party material, the organization should distinguish its own original publications from material originating elsewhere.

If you discover that material provenance was materially incorrect, you should correct it promptly where reasonably practicable.

Depending on the circumstances, this may involve:

• updating attribution;
• correcting a source name;
• replacing a link;
• correcting a publication date;
• identifying an original source;
• disclosing an edit; or
• adding a correction note.

Good-faith correction is generally preferable to enforcement where there was no deliberate deception.

Identifying a source does not mean that the source is necessarily accurate.

For example, an accurately attributed statement may still contain disputed or incorrect factual claims.

Factual accuracy is governed separately by Media.com's Content Integrity & Fact-Checking Rules.

Attribution explains where information came from.

Verification assesses identity, authority or other relevant information.

A publication does not become verified merely because a source is named.

Attributing another person's work does not automatically give you the legal right to reproduce it.

Copyright and other intellectual property requirements are governed by Media.com's Copyright & Intellectual Property Rules.

Users may:

• express opinions without formal citations;
• publish personal experiences;
• discuss matters based on general knowledge;
• quote others lawfully;
• use anonymous or confidential sources;
• publish unverified information where uncertainty is honestly described;
• republish content where legally permitted and appropriately attributed;
• publish satire or fiction where its nature is reasonably clear; and
• update provenance information when more becomes known.

Where provenance is missing, unclear or inaccurate, Media.com may:

• request attribution;
• request clarification;
• add provenance information;
• add a source label;
• request disclosure of material editing;
• require correction;
• add contextual information;
• limit recommendation;
• restrict monetization;
• remove materially deceptive content;
• issue an account warning; or
• take stronger action for repeated or deliberate deception.

Media.com does not need to apply these measures sequentially.

Good-faith attribution mistakes should ordinarily be treated differently from deliberate source fabrication.

Users may report content they believe falsely identifies its source, authorship or provenance through Media.com's Report function.

A report does not itself establish that attribution is incorrect.

Users may appeal eligible enforcement decisions where they believe Media.com incorrectly assessed attribution or provenance.

For more information, see Appealing a Media.com Decision.

These Rules should be read together with:

• Content Integrity & Fact-Checking;
• Synthetic & Manipulated Media;
• Verification;
• Impersonation & Identity Abuse;
• Copyright & Intellectual Property;
• Fraud & Criminal Activity;
• Content & Conduct Standards;
• Spam, Fake Engagement & Platform Manipulation; and
• other applicable Media.com Rules and Policies.